FUTURE OF TÜRKİYE-EU RELATIONS: COOPERATION, COMPETITION AND COOPETITION

Türkiye’s relationship with the European Union (EU) has a long history, dating back to the Ankara Agreement signed in 1963. Despite the decades-long relationship, the full membership envisioned by the Ankara Agreement has yet to materialize. Political and technical obstacles, including frozen negotiation chapters and shifts in foreign policy priorities, have recently strained relations. While Türkiye has been drifting away from the EU, the transformative impact of the EU on Turkish politics and society have declined for the last decade. Thus, recent research on Türkiye-EU relations has focused on the processes of de-Europeanization in Turkish politics, rising contestation, and political divergence between Türkiye and the EU. Borrowed from the discipline of business administration, the concept of coopetition offers a different perspective on how cooperation and competition can co-exist together between Türkiye and the EU. By focusing on progressive cooperation rather than a stagnant partnership, and on constructive competition rather than destructive rivalry, both parties can sustain a more balanced and productive relationship. This study re-evaluates Türkiye-EU relations in light of global transformations, technological advancements, and regional conflicts, proposing the concept of coopetition as a framework for the management of simultaneous cooperation and competition between the two. Focusing on the green economy, digital transformation, and geopolitical/geo-economic areas and in line with the perspective of coopetition model, the study argues that Türkiye-EU relations can be revitalized if only both sides acknowledge that cooperation for research and development, maintaining peace in their vicinity will provide mutual gains while contestation for normative order and competition for geo-economic benefits will persist.